
Sign up to save your podcasts
Or


The daylight robbery of precious crown jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris has us stealing your attention to inspect heists and crime scenes in science.
We explore how stealthy spiders use tricks and deceit to rob precious prey from one another, and we look at how seagulls and other birds have the advantage when it comes to stealing food from humans. We also learn how our immunological security systems try to prevent bacteria from doing an iron-heist from our cells and blood.
But what about figuring out whodunnit? Forensic ecologist and palynologist Professor Patricia Wiltshire shares how pollen can be instrumental when solving crimes and how thorough, detailed forensic work can help uncover the truth when unravelling mysteries.
We also hear about the tensions between elephants and humans in Kenya, why we prefer the taste of certain foods, and how the code to a famous puzzle-filled sculpture might have finally been cracked.
All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Phillys Mwatee and Kai Kupferschmidt
By BBC World Service4.5
336336 ratings
The daylight robbery of precious crown jewels from the Louvre museum in Paris has us stealing your attention to inspect heists and crime scenes in science.
We explore how stealthy spiders use tricks and deceit to rob precious prey from one another, and we look at how seagulls and other birds have the advantage when it comes to stealing food from humans. We also learn how our immunological security systems try to prevent bacteria from doing an iron-heist from our cells and blood.
But what about figuring out whodunnit? Forensic ecologist and palynologist Professor Patricia Wiltshire shares how pollen can be instrumental when solving crimes and how thorough, detailed forensic work can help uncover the truth when unravelling mysteries.
We also hear about the tensions between elephants and humans in Kenya, why we prefer the taste of certain foods, and how the code to a famous puzzle-filled sculpture might have finally been cracked.
All that, plus many more Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Phillys Mwatee and Kai Kupferschmidt

7,583 Listeners

1,084 Listeners

894 Listeners

1,057 Listeners

5,457 Listeners

1,800 Listeners

731 Listeners

1,749 Listeners

1,041 Listeners

2,087 Listeners

600 Listeners

762 Listeners

90 Listeners

971 Listeners

403 Listeners

421 Listeners

823 Listeners

823 Listeners

235 Listeners

336 Listeners

476 Listeners

3,187 Listeners

114 Listeners

1,032 Listeners